Ube Crinkles are familiar Filipino holiday fare

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This article was published 11/12/2020 (2150 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kris Kringle, meet Ube Crinkle.

Ube Crinkle is a cookie from the Philippines that is a common sight at Christmas gatherings. It’s also today’s recipe in the Free Press’s 12 Days of Christmas Cookies.

The recipe comes from Eejay Chua, a chef at Baon Bistro/Manila Nights takeout restaurant and catering service in Winnipeg. Ube, which is also known as a purple yam, is a staple in the Philippines and other Asian countries. This recipe uses ube jam, or halaya, which can be found at Filipino grocery stores, such as Tindahan Food Mart at 906 Sargent Ave.

“It’s my go-to dessert because it’s pretty easy and pretty flavourful. There’s some good textures there as well. I do it for birthdays, Christmas. Sometimes I even stuff it with cheese,” Chua says.

Ube Crinkles are quick to make, Chua says, and at Christmastime, they are quickly snapped up by those looking for something sweet.

Chua was born and grew up in Manila, and has lived off and on between Canada and the Philippines. He moved back to Winnipeg in 2017.

The threat of COVID-19 has changed and will change Christmas celebrations around the world, but he says they can be a pretty raucous affair in Manila.

“In the Philippines, sometimes it’s the whole block that celebrates at the same time. Sometimes they have fireworks too, on Christmas Eve. Here it’s smaller than in the Philippines. There’s still a lot of food, but it’s not as spontaneous as the Philippines.”

Ube Crinkles

Ube crinkles, or purple yam crinkles, are Filipino cookies made from purple yam, flour, eggs, baking powder, butter and sugar. They are soft, chewy cookies coated with powdered sugar before baking, which brings out their unique cracked or crinkled surface. They are commonly made with chocolate but are also adapted to various flavours such as vanilla, red velvet and ube.

180 ml (3/4 cup) sugar
60 ml (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 egg
500 ml (2 cups) ube jam/halaya
10 to 15 ml (2-3 tsp) ube extract
500 ml (2 cups) flour
7.5 ml (11/2 tsp) baking powder
1 ml (1/4 tsp) salt
125 ml (1/2 cup) powdered sugar or icing sugar, sifted

In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter.

Add the egg and beat until the colour becomes pale.

Add the ube jam/halaya and ube extract and beat again until well blended.

Gradually add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix using a spatula or electric mixer with a dough attachment, whichever you prefer. The dough will be very sticky, that’s OK.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight or place in the freezer for at least 2 hours for faster process.

Scoop a spoonful, 2.5 to 5 cm (1 to 2 inches) in diameter, of chilled dough and drop into a bowl of powdered sugar; make sure it’s evenly coated.

Arrange at least 5 cm (2 inches) apart on a baking sheet.

Bake at 175 C (350 F) for 10-12 minutes.

Remove from oven and let the cookies chill for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Makes about 12 cookies.

alan.small@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter:@AlanDSmall

Alan Small
Reporter

Alan Small has been a journalist at the Free Press for more than 22 years in a variety of roles, the latest being a reporter in the Arts and Life section.

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